Students discuss the physical features of the British Isles and reasons an island might split into several countries. They compare maps of language and religious groups to political maps of the United Kingdom and Ireland, and read and answer questions about languages and religions of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Tips & Modifications

Modification

Have students use the Cornell Note Taking method with the reading passage. Click here to find and download a blank Cornell Note Taking worksheet.

Modification

Students may have difficulty understanding the concept of armed conflict over religious differences. If needed, read aloud the handout in Step 2 to students, guiding them to recognize the main idea of the interrelated nature of language and religion in many places.

Project the maps Physical Map of Europe and Country Borders in Europe for students, or overlay the two map transparencies if available. Ask students to find the United Kingdom and Ireland. Have students discuss, as a class, the physical features of the two islands. Ask: Do you expect that an island would only contain one country? Why or why not? What might cause an island to split into several countries? Next, ask students to think about the languages and religions they learned about in Lesson 6: Languages and Religions of Europe. Ask: Were the United Kingdom and Ireland identified as possible trouble spots during that lesson? What are your impressions of language and religion in the United Kingdom and Ireland? Explain.

2. Have partners read a passage.

Divide students into pairs. Distribute a copy of the handout Languages and Religions of The U.K. and Ireland to each pair. Read aloud the passage a first time as students follow along, pointing out any difficult pronunciations. Then have students re-read the passage with their partners.

3. Have partners use the reading and maps to complete the worksheet.

Distribute a copy of the following to each pair: worksheet Mapping Languages and Religions of the U.K. and Ireland; map The United Kingdom and Ireland; map Dominant Languages in the United Kingdom and Ireland; and map Dominant Religions in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Have students work together to complete Part 1 of the worksheet on their maps. Rotate around the room and provide support, as needed. As a class, share and discuss students’ completed maps.

4. Have small groups examine languages and religions of the U.K. and Ireland.

Combine pairs to form four small groups. Assign each group only one of the questions in Part 2 of the worksheet. Tell students that they will present their answers to Part 2 in the next activity. Provide students with ample time to discuss and write the answer to their assigned question. Encourage them to identify parts of the reading or maps they used to answer their question and to prepare for questioning by their classmates.

Informal Assessment

Check for student understanding by observing their whole-class, partner, and small-group discussion contributions, and checking their answers to Part 1 of the worksheet.

Extending the Learning

Emphasize to students that it often takes a very long time for change to take place regarding conflicts over language or religion in any part of the world. Have students do additional research on the religious and language conflicts in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Encourage students to find newspaper articles or web pages that describe the troubles in northern Ireland and how the different groups worked together to resolve the conflict.

Students present their ideas about how language and religion can unite or divide countries. Then they revisit questions about groups with their new knowledge of religion and language groups in Europe. Students reflect on how their ideas about how religious and language groups can cooperate within a country have changed.

Divide students into the same small groups from Lesson 7, Activity 1. Then invite each group to the front of the class to present their assigned question from Part 2 of the worksheet Mapping Languages and Religions of the U.K. and Ireland and the answer they arrived at. Encourage students to ask questions as groups make their presentations. Ask presenters to refer to the parts of the reading or maps that they used to answer their question.

2. Revisit questions about groups with new understandings.

Have a whole-class discussion in which students revisit some of the questions about what a group is from Lesson 6, Activity 1, with their new knowledge of religion and language groups in Europe. Ask:

What You’ll Need

Resources Provided

Required Technology

Physical Space

Classroom

Setup

None

Grouping

Large-group instruction

Small-group instruction

Accessibility Notes

None

Other Notes

Before starting the activity, make transparencies of key maps. Print the following maps on transparency paper: Dominant Languages in the United Kingdom and Ireland, The United Kingdom and Ireland, and Dominant Religions in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

If you made transparencies of the Physical Map of Europe and Country Borders in Europe for Lesson 3, Activity 1, you can also use those in Step 1 of this activity.

Background Information

Ireland is also known as the Republic of Ireland. The United Kingdom includes England, Wales, Scotland, and northern Ireland. People in Ireland and the United Kingdom share similar landscapes and histories. But language and religious differences have led to fierce conflicts between the two close countries for hundreds of years. English kings and queens tried to conquer their Celtic-speaking neighbors, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, for almost a thousand years. Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, along with Brittany in northwestern France, and the Isle of Man, managed to retain their ancient languages and way of life. These areas were able to do so, even when conquered by the Romans and other invaders. Examples of Celtic languages include Gaelic, Cornish, and Welsh. Today, English is spoken virtually everywhere in the British Isles. Gaelic is used by only about one percent of Scots. The Welsh language persists in the place names of Wales. In Wales, laws were passed making all signs bilingual—both in Welsh and English. Still, only a fraction of people residing in Wales are monoglot, meaning they speak only Welsh.

King Henry VIII rejected Catholicism and turned England toward Protestantism in the 1530s. Afterward, the English battled Catholic enemies France and Spain for territories around the world. Ireland remained a loyal Catholic country. It rebelled repeatedly when Henry VIII and his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, brought the country under English rule. Scottish and English Protestants colonized northern Ireland in the early 1600s. At the same time, England was competing with Spain and France to colonize North America. But the Irish natives resisted change. They retained their Catholic religion and native Celtic language and customs. However, the English were firmly in control of Ireland by the late 1600s. And Protestants were in the most powerful positions in the Catholic country. In 1801, the English empire was at the height of its power and declared that all of England, Scotland, and Wales were a "United Kingdom." But the Irish disagreed. In the mid-1800s, Ireland began a new movement for political independence, or "home rule." By 1922, the southern, more Celtic part of the island became independent. Eventually it was named the Republic of Ireland. But fighting and bloodshed between Catholics and Protestants continued in northern Ireland. The majority of people there maintained strong cultural, religious, and family ties to England. A peace settlement was finally reached in 1998. Now Protestants and Catholics share power in the government of northern Ireland.

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Educator Reviewer

Brian Blouet, The College of William & Mary
Olwyn Blouet, Virginia State University
Michal LeVasseur, Ph.D., National Geographic Alliance Network Liaison
Ian Muehlenhaus, University of Minnesota
Alexander Murphy, Professor of Geography and Rippey Chair in Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Geography, University of Oregon
Peter Rees, University of Delaware
Joseph Stoltman, Western Michigan University
Audrey Mohan, 2007-2008 Grosvenor Scholar, National Geographic Society

Expert Reviewer

Margaret A. Legates, Coordinator, Delaware Geographic Alliance

National Geographic Program

2008 Summer Geography Institute: Beyond Borders

Other

Special thanks to the educators who participated in National Geographic's 2008-2009 National Teacher Leadership Academy (NTLA), for testing activities in their classrooms and informing the content for all of the Beyond Borders: Using Maps to Understand European Physical and Cultural Landscapes resources.

Educator Reviewer

Brian Blouet, The College of William & Mary
Olwyn Blouet, Virginia State University
Michal LeVasseur, Ph.D., National Geographic Alliance Network Liaison
Ian Muehlenhaus, University of Minnesota
Alexander Murphy, Professor of Geography and Rippey Chair in Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Geography, University of Oregon
Peter Rees, University of Delaware
Joseph Stoltman, Western Michigan University
Audrey Mohan, 2007-2008 Grosvenor Scholar, National Geographic Society

Expert Reviewer

Margaret A. Legates, Coordinator, Delaware Geographic Alliance

National Geographic Program

2008 Summer Geography Institute: Beyond Borders

Other

Special thanks to the educators who participated in National Geographic's 2008-2009 National Teacher Leadership Academy (NTLA), for testing activities in their classrooms and informing the content for all of the Beyond Borders: Using Maps to Understand European Physical and Cultural Landscapes resources.

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